Season 1 Episode 08: Ruler of the Land
Synopsis Toori's decision to side to just giving up on Horizon catches Masazumi off guard, as she expects Toori to go with saving Horizon. Toori points out that he decides to go first since it is part of the rules, and if he goes against it, he will be on the receiving end of Makiko's sword. Then, Toori goes into a more serious tone as he requests Masazumi to tell him what he should do to save Horizon as he admits that he is incapable of doing anything in his current status. Although pressured, Masazumi prepares to discuss about the merits of rescuing Horizon. All while being watched by the Harmonic Divine States. Firstly, Masazumi talks about the security of sovereignty of the Far East as one of the good effects of retrieving Horizon. According to her, there are three ways a country can achieve sovereignty: first is to achieve equal standing with the other nations through independence; second is the need for a leader that will command the people; and third is the ability for that country to make decisions on its own. Masazumi mentions the current status of the Far East as a coutry held back by the Testament Union, and she thinks that getting to Horizon will allow Musashi to gain a sovereign that the Testament Union cannot touch. That is, Horizon's rescue would be a big step into the independence of the Far East, although she also knows that the Testament Union will not allow such a thing to happen. Toori adds that a war is inevitable in that case. Soon, Toori pulls out a piece of paper from his uniform, which contains some questions by some people from within Musashi. Konishi asks about the possibility of a death toll if ever Musashi goes into war with the Testament Union, and Masazumi points out that someone could still get killed even if Musashi decides to avoid a war; Shirojiro mentioned earlier that avoiding a war will not solve Musashi's problem of lack of self-sufficiency when it comes to the aspect of food supplies, and people will still die, although throught starvation in this case. Thus, going to war and death will be inevitable given the circumstances. Toori then asks a question submitted by Masanobu Honda, Masazumi's father. He asks, "If you want to save the princess, present a valid reason for opposing the Testament Union aside from the issue regarding sovereign powers. Why do you think the Testament Union is evil for ordering her suicide?" In the Eikoumaru, the Testament Union's leader, Innocentius, flanked by Galileo, becomes interested with Masanobu's challenging question, which now tests if Masazumi would speak against the Testament Union in order to defend her side. Meanwhile, Masazumi feels somewhat taken aback by his father's remarks against her inexperience, but keeps her cool as she reaches for her pocket. Suzu hears this and alerts Tomo and the others; it turns out that Masazumi is well-prepared as well, bringing a cheat sheet to help her in important decisions. She remembers the amount of work she did just to polish her statements, and she remains doubtful about whether it would work or not. As she feels the pressure of her stand to the point of ripping her cheat sheet in two, Toori rips the paper on his hands and tells her that there is no point if she does not speak now, especially since she is the only one of position in Musashi — and the only person who can do something at this moment. Then, Adele, holding what seems to be a bucket of sewer water comes under Toori's request. Masazumi is surprised as out from the bucket is one of the brown algae creatures who come to personally request her to rescue Horizon, who they see as a friend. It seems that these critters manage to win over Masazumi's heart, and so, Masazumi decides to speak her mind about Horizon's rescue. Masazumi states that Horizon has been wrongly considered as the one responsible to the destruction of Mikawa. She recalls that the death of Lord Motonobu Matsudaira was not considered to be a suicide, so the responsibility of was shifted to Horizon. However, Horizon, who has been living in Musashi for some time, is not the heiress of the family at the time of Lord Motonobu Matsudaira's death; to add, only the Itsukushima Shrine has declared an informal succession for Horizon. To add, Horizon does not remember details of her past, so Masazumi points out that she is completely unrelated to the incident in Mikawa. Thus, under the excuse of history recreation, they are going to execute someone, and it did not matter whether it is Horizon or not. However, Masazumi insists that no one should be left to die due to an incident that he/she is not involved in; she suggests that a way to solve the current situation in Mikawa is to integrate Mikawa itself into the Musashi, who had been helping Mikawa on its infrastructure before. Then, Innocentius decides to step in into the debate and states that Masazumi's stand is a fallacy. Masazumi now faces the most powerful man of the Testament Union, and the debate is shifted from Masazumi against Toori to Masazumi against Innocentius. Innocentius states that the Testament is prone to having varying interpretations, and he points out that none of these is only due to convenience. Following this, Innocentius tells Masazumi that the plan for sentencing Horizon to commit suicide is a form of martyrdom, not a simple act of killing a person. He also accepts the fact that the Testament might encounter errors along the way, and it is Testament Union's duty to correct these errors. As the brewing debate happens in Musashi Ariadust Academy, Gin and Muneshige Tachibana watch while eating lunch near a Tres España outpost. Gin comments that Innocentius is shifting the topic, but Muneshige tells his wife that things like these would be unnoticeable to a normal person; also, it appears the Innocentius is deliberately doing this for Masazumi to accept his challenge to debate against him — a style of debate that can wear down even the most experienced debaters. Masazumi seems to accept Innocentius' challenge as she questions the Testament Union's decision to freeze the assets of the Far East, but Innocentius assures her that those assets will be returned as long as there will be an agreement between the two sides. Masazumi is alarmed that he will enforce a strategy that will ultimately destroy the assets of the Far East, so she decides to confirm whether it is possible to reach that agreement with him. Innocentius appears to accept a possibility of agreement, so Masazumi enforces the help of Shirojiro and Tomo to assess the current situation with money and matters with Itsukushima Shrine respectively. Then, Masazumi declares that Musashi Ariadust Academy will reach an agreement with the Testament Union on three conditions: first, Musashi will finance the settlements whose assets have been frozen by the Testament Union; second, if the informal succession of Horizon Ariadust pushes through, there will be an official protest by Asama Shrine; and third, if the suicide of Horizon Ariadust is not cancelled, the Musashi Ariadust Academy will use all means necessary to protect Horizon, and integrate her into the academy. Innocentius, once again, calls her stand a fallacy, and he states that the Testament Union is not interested in going to war, contrary to Masazumi's assumptions. At that moment, Masazumi is faced with only two choices: either to admit defeat, or declare war against the Testament Union. Meanwhile, Innocentius even agrees to release the assets of Far Eastern settlements and permit the annexion of Mikawa to Musashi as long as Masazumi concedes. The Pope-President soon mentions the Mortal Sin Armament stored inside Horizon: the Olos Phthonos. He calls it a master operating system that can merge the other eight Mortal Sin Armaments and, mentioning how these Mortal Sin Armaments can avert the apocalypse, sees the Olos Phthonos as a vital tool in saving the world from its end. Innocentius suspects that the reason behind Lord Motonobu's decision to place a ninth Mortal Sin Armament inside his daughter is to conquer the Far East, and Musashi's decision to retrieve her will be a direct invitation to wage war against the Testament Union. And to make things worse for Masazumi, Innocentius begins to break down Masazumi herself as he mentions her failures to inherit the name she now holds and how it affects her current credibility. As Masazumi witnesses her reputation slowly crumbling down in front of the Far Eastern audience, a surprised Toori confronts her about her real gender. Toori goes straight to the point and pulls down Masazumi's pants, revealing quite a feminine build and a very flat chest, which is not really her fault to begin with. Masazumi becomes flustered upon the discovery of her true gender, and Innocentius appears to be impatient throughout this, telling the two that they are veering off-course from the topic at hand. In response, Toori tells Innocentius that it is he who is veering off-course with his talk, and soon, he voices his utmost support for Masazumi, who allows Toori to discover the possibility of pulling off the rescue of Horizon Ariadust. Toori then returns to voicing out his distaste for Innocentius' stand, which screamed "Kill Horizon!" behind the bribes and sweet talk. Innocentius then asks Toori about the people of Musashi and the Far East regarding the current situation. Toori passes the question to Masazumi, but Masazumi reminds him that he will face battle with other countries, but they should not lose their will to protect others and themselves if that happens. Then, Masazumi declares that their first international benefit is the ability of each and every student of Musashi Ariadust Academy to save Horizon Ariadust. The second would be the process of annexing Mikawa to Musashi, and in turn, Musashi will be sovereign power of the Far East. Meanwhile, the foreign settlements of the Far East would be converted to temporary independent cities and neutral demilitarized zones. Masazumi then declares that they will retrieve the Mortal Sin Armaments and avert the apocalypse with no compensation. Despite Innocentius' protest of "stealing" the role of retrieving the Mortal Sin Armaments, Masazumi continues, pointing out that the Mortal Sin Armaments are Horizon's from the start, as they contain a piece of her soul each, and it is only fair to return them to her. There, Masazumi declares that the Far East will request the current owners of the Mortal Sin Armaments to return them to Horizon. Also, she declares that Musashi does not wish to wage war with the other nations, and in fact, asks the assistance of the other countries to prevent the apocalypse. However, if war escalates for the ownership of the Mortal Sin Armaments, Musashi will do what is needed to fight for the highly-coveted weapons. Innocentius concludes that there has not been a parallel agreement and orders Galileo, K.P.A. Scuola's 2nd Special Duty, to take care of Masazumi. In an instant, Galileo appears near Musashi Ariadust Academy, and both Kiyonari Ulqiaga and Noriki try to stop him from getting to Masazumi. However, he has the Stithos Porneia, Innocentius' Mortal Sin Armament on his hands, and this, alongside his own ability Ptolemaic Theory, he was able to counter both of their attacks with ease. Galileo then comes for Masazumi. Toori dives in to move Masazumi away from the path of Galileo's attack, and there, they saw someone who stopped Galileo's attack using her spear. It was Futayo Honda, the commander of the Mikawa Security Corps. Characters By order of appearance *Toori Aoi *Masazumi Honda *Muneshige Tachibana *Gin Tachibana *Konishi *Masanobu Honda *Innocentius *Galileo *Suzu Mukai *Tomo Asama *Adele Balfette *Brown Algae *Kiyonari Ulquiaga *Noriki *Futayo Honda Quotes *"Nice little boobies!" — by Toori Aoi, commenting on Masazumi's flat chest Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes